New York Yankee Jacoby Ellsbury commits $1 million to alma mater

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Jacoby Ellsbury, center fielder for the New York Yankees and former student-athlete at Oregon State University, has committed $1 million to help the OSU baseball program expand its locker room facilities.

Goss Stadium, which has stood on the Oregon State campus since 1907, is the oldest continuous ballpark in the nation, and has been home to the Beavers since the program’s first pitch more than 100 years ago.

“We are tremendously thankful,” said Pat Casey, who is in his 20th year as OSU’s head coach. “Great facilities are at the core of great programs, and with Jacoby’s generous gift we will be able to continue to offer our student-athletes a world-class experience.”

The stadium has undergone several enhancements in recent years with support from donors. Prior to the 2009 season, nearly 1,000 seats were added down the left and right field lines and the Omaha Room created seating for approximately 70.

Despite the recent improvements, the baseball program has outgrown its locker room space, Casey said. The proposed $2.8 million project will expand and enhance the locker room, update the equipment room, add team meeting space, and include both a new recruiting area and a centralized main entrance. In recognition of the gift, the OSU locker room facilities will be named in honor of Ellsbury.

“OSU Baseball has given me so much,” said Jacoby Ellsbury, who holds among his accolades the Beavers’ run record at 168. “I am thrilled I am able to help my alma mater carry on its proud tradition; and perhaps, this expansion will convince a few more Pacific Northwest recruits to wear OSU orange and black.”

The Madras, Ore., native played for Oregon State from 2003-2005 before being drafted 23rd overall by the Boston Red Sox in 2005. In 2007, he helped the club win the World Series. In 2011, he won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, the Silver Slugger Award, and was the American League MVP runner-up. He earned his second World Series ring in 2013, before signing with the New York Yankees.

“Oregon State is where I got my start,” explained Ellsbury. “It’s where I learned—from Coach Casey, teammates, and assistant coaches—how to be a successful athlete, a successful person. For that, I am forever grateful.”

With this gift, donors to The Campaign for OSU have committed more than $172 million for OSU Athletics. University leaders announced in January that the campaign had passed its overall $1 billion goal with 11 months to spare, making OSU one of only 35 public universities to achieve the billion-dollar milestone in a campaign.

About Oregon State University: As one of only two universities in the nation designated as a land, sea, space and sun grant, Oregon State serves Oregon and the world by working on today’s most pressing issues. Our more than 31,000 students come from across the globe, and our programs operate in every Oregon county. Oregon State receives more research funding than all of the state’s comprehensive public universities combined. At our campuses in Corvallis and Bend, marine research center in Newport and award-winning Ecampus, we excel at shaping today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders.